


We Could Be on Fire But I'd Still Notice Only You

by attheendoftheday



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, First Date, Fluff, HERE ARE NERVOUS LESBIANS GOING ON DATES AND SETTING STUFF ON FIRE, girl!Harry, girl!Louis, i don't even know i wanted to write about nervous lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 02:10:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attheendoftheday/pseuds/attheendoftheday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they meet, Louis is drunk and wearing a Santa suit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Could Be on Fire But I'd Still Notice Only You

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this earlier this month but never got around to posting it, so here it is.  
> I think the ending's a bit shit but I didn't feel like editing it!
> 
> (This is actually based on how my former camp counselor met her boyfriend, actually. Based on a true story!!!)

It’s four days till Christmas and Louis is at a club.

It all started three hours ago, when she sat on top of Zayn’s stomach and declared, “I want to get drunk.” Zayn shoved her off and stared at her for a second, before sighing and getting the other boys.  
It continued when, after a couple of shots, Niall dragged out several old costumes from his closet – which, by the way, what the fuck – and promptly started his transformation into a Christmas elf.  
And it ends up here, with Louis sitting in a club next to Liam, holding a disgustingly fruity drink and wearing a Santa suit and beard.  
She spills her drink onto Liam when she sees her - the beautiful girl standing in the corner. She’s not dressed in normal party wear (although Louis probably shouldn’t be judging). Instead, she has on a dark purple sweater and dark skinny jeans that look impossible to get off, making her look so long and lithe and lean that Louis wants to die. And she’s looking right at Louis, too, fuck, with these huge bright green Bambi eyes.  
“Liam, help me,” Louis moans as the boy tries to clean up the drink spilled on his lap.  
“Fuck off, Lou, these were new jeans –“  
“She’s gorgeous. We’re making eye contact. Is she looking at me or behind me? Jesus Christ.”  
“This isn’t how I thought my life would turn out,” Liam says sadly. “I wanted something better. All I have now are gay friends and wet jeans.” Louis elbows him.  
“Are you even listening to me?” she hisses. “Look over there. Don’t stare!”  
Liam sighs. “First of all, you are literally dressed up as Santa. Not even a sexy Santa. You have on a beard, for God’s sake. Everyone has been staring at you. Just get rid of the beard at least, and go up and talk to her. Fuck, Lou, this is staining!” He’s still scrubbing his jeans. Liam never really had his priorities straight.  
She rips off her beard and sets it carefully on Liam’s head. “I’m going in,” she whispers, and commences to travel across the floor, bumping into everyone on her way over. Was the suit always this bulky?  
When she finally gets to the girl, she stares for a bit, and slightly regrets not wearing her good bra.  
“Nice costume,” the girl says, and she’s so much taller than Louis, wow. “Really getting into the Christmas spirit, I see.”  
“Well, yeah, gotta bring some holiday cheer to the world,” and Louis isn’t just red because of the alcohol. “I’m just reminding the barbarians in here that there’s an old man watching everything they do. It’s a good incentive for making smart life choices.”  
The girl laughs like it’s the funniest thing she’s heard all night, her smile revealing deep dimples. “You’re funny … “ the girl starts, staring at Louis appreciatively and brushing her curly brown hair away from her face.  
“I’m Louis,” she replies. “And you are … ?”  
“Harry. Harry Styles.”  
“So, Harry Styles, if that’s your real name. What is someone like you doing in a place like this?” Louis might be flirting a little too heavily, but she can’t bring herself care.  
Harry laughs again, and God, Louis can’t handle this girl. “Just checking out the sights,” she says, and slowly, deliberately runs her eyes down Louis’ body. The Santa suit feels uncomfortably warm, and Louis really regrets not wearing her good bra.  
Before she can comment on Harry’s cheekiness or maybe invite the girl over for a wild night of sex, Louis feels a tug on her arm. Turning around, she sees that it’s Liam.  
“Niall tried to crowdsurf and is now in the bathroom puking. Again. It’s time to go,” he says, and pats her arm apologetically before turning away.  
She turns back to Harry’s curious stare and apologizes. “Sorry, sorry. Friend emergency.” Sorry she won’t be getting laid tonight. Fuck.  
Harry giggles and reaches into her back pocket. “I can see that. So, um, I’m gonna be in Cheshire for the holidays, but if you want, can I have your number?” She asks the question shyly, but her phone is already out and her hand poised to type the number in.  
Louis tells her, and briefly wonders where her own phone is. Probably still in the beard she gave to Liam.  
“Pleasure to meet you, Harry. I’ll be expecting to hear from you,” Louis says, and goes onto her tiptoes to smack a wet kiss onto Harry’s cheek before rushing off to carry Niall into a cab. She doesn’t stop smiling all night, even when Niall nearly vomits on her shoes.  
The next day is spent driving to Doncaster, after Louis deals with the worst of her hangover. About halfway there Louis feels her phone vibrate and pulls over into a gas station, because she is not going to be that dickhead that kills someone because of a text.  
But it’s from an unknown number, and Louis feels her heart start to beat faster as she opens it.  
Hiiiii, its harry from the club!!! And youre santa louis :)  
Louis smiles.  
hey xx she responds back. Not too thirsty, not too detached. Perfect. She’s doing good. Okay.  
The rest of the drive goes by without a response from Harry, and even when Louis finally arrives at her destination she’s still thinking about it.  
As soon as she walks in the door, she’s trampled by four girls. “Mum, Louis is home!” one of her sisters calls over her shoulder as she hugs Louis. Jay walks in from the kitchen.  
“Girls, give your sister some space,” she says, and pulls Louis into a hug. “Good to have you home, sweetheart.”  
“Hey mum,” Louis says, melting into the hug. It’s only a second before the girls are pulling her away to play and talk.  
That night Harry texts back, telling about her drive home, and after the end of their two hour long text conversation Louis decidedly Does Not squeal into her pillow.  
Louis’ birthday goes by, followed by Christmas and New Year’s, and all are wonderful. It’s nice to be home, with someone else doing her laundry and feeding her. She eats half her weight in chocolate cake, and the girls love the gifts she bought them.  
(Compared to last year, though, it was absolutely uneventful. Last year’s Christmas celebration was one for the history books. Louis and her grandpa got drunk on too much expensive wine, fell into the Christmas tree, and nearly set the house on fire. It was a perfect holiday.)  
Harry texts her every day, either a random emoji or do fish eat other fish because if they do i dont think its healthy kind of text. It’s kind of the highlight of Louis’ day.  
Too soon, the break is over and the real world beckons again. Louis loads all of her shit into the car, complaining about her back the entire time, and rushes back in from the cold to hug everyone goodbye. Once Louis’ sisters have said their goodbyes and retreated back into their bedrooms, Jay pulls her daughter into a tight hug.  
“We miss you around here,” she says, and Louis buries her face into the woman’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent.  
“I know, Mum. I miss you guys too.”  
Releasing Louis, Jay steps back and smirks. “Now, maybe you can tell me about who’s caused you to be glued to your phone all break, then?”  
Louis mumbles, “no one,” but she can feel her cheeks heat up. God damn it. She’s paying to major in drama and yet she still can’t lie to her mum for shit.  
After several more hugs and kisses and promises to call, Louis finally can leave. The closer she gets to home, the more excited she gets. Harry’s supposed to be coming back from Cheshire today.  
Later that night, when she’s watching TV with the boys and trying not to fall asleep, Louis’ phone rings. She sleepily picks it up, but her hand freezes and her eyes widen as she sees that it’s Harry who’s calling. The sound of Miley Cyrus wailing about a wrecking ball permeates her skull. (She should really change her ringtone.)  
Once the phone stops ringing, Zayns looks at Louis’ stunned expression and from his seat next to her nervously elbows her shoulder.  
Liam speaks from the opposite end of the couch. “Louis,” he asks, voice strained, “was that who I think it was?”  
Louis nods mutely. Why didn’t she pick up the phone? Fuck.  
"Well, call her back, you idiot!" Liam shrieks as she hurriedly searches for Harry’s contact. "I’m not going to have you moping around here moaning about how lonely you are!"  
Louis hears Harry pick up with a slightly amused, “hello?” and races to her bedroom, leaving Liam to explain the situation to a very confused Niall and Zayn.  
"Hi, uh, sorry I missed you the first time," Louis chuckles weakly as she sits on her bed.  
"No problem. How was the trip back from your mum’s?" Harry asks, and - her voice is like chocolate . Delicious dark chocolate. Louis wants to eat Harry’s voice.  
"Good. Had a couple of dicks nearly crash into me, but, you know. What can you do." Louis sounds like an idiot. "And yours?"  
"It was fine. So, um, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow? If not, that’s cool, I know it’s a bit last minute," Harry asks nervously, and Louis can imagine her cheeks turning a bright pink.  
"Yeah, yeah, definitely free," Louis says eagerly. She doesn’t know what happened to her policy of playing hard to get, but apparently it doesn’t apply to Harry Styles.  
"Awesome! So, like, I don’t know if you’ve heard of this place called Le Champignon," Harry says, and Louis almost drops the phone because of fucking course this girl wants to take her to a ridiculously fancy restaurant. "I could pick you up at seven. Is that okay?"  
Louis gives Harry her address and says a quick goodbye, promising to text her later.  
As soon as she walks into the other room the boys take one look at her and burst out laughing.  
"I despise you all," Louis mumbles, cheeks turning red. She curls back up next to Zayn and tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.  
If Louis thought she felt butterflies before, the next day it’s like a whole fucking zoo was let loose in her stomach and the animals decided to throw a dance party.  
She spent a whole hour on decided what to wear, settling on a blue blouse and high waisted jeans, and another to get Niall and his weird guitar friends out of her home.  
"I cannot even deal with you guys now," she groans, looking at the mass of boys in her home, being loud and smelly and generally gross. "This is actually why I’m gay. You lot are literally disgusting enough to reaffirm my identity as a homosexual. I hope you’re proud."  
Zayn drags her out to the kitchen, holding her by the shoulders. “Lou, you might wanna calm down with the insults,” he says, and grins when she smacks his arm. “Don’t worry, Liam’s getting them under control.”  
"I’m never sharing my weed with them again," Louis says, but then her smile falters and she starts rambling. "But seriously. Am I fancy enough? I thought blue because it matches my eyes, but I don’t know if my heels are too high. I mean, I think they’re good since Harry’s a lot taller, but, you know, I don’t wanna look like - "  
Zayn cuts her off. “You look fine,” he says kindly, and Louis feels momentarily comforted. Until the doorbell rings. Then she feels rather nauseous.  
She quickly opens the door and, before she can even take in Harry’s appearance, is pushed out of the apartment and into the other girl’s arms. Louis faintly hears Zayn reminding her to make good choices, but is rather preoccupied with a very pretty girl holding her up.  
Harry smiles at her (and she has to look down to see Louis, which shouldn’t as sexy as it is). As she removes her arms from where they were gripping Louis’ shoulders, Louis feels a small twinge of disappointment.  
"So I guess this date was useless … " Harry starts, and Louis looks at her, slightly concerned. "You’re already falling for me."  
It takes Louis a second, but she snorts and grabs Harry’s hand to pull her down the hallway. “We need to leave now, before I am completely repelled by your humor.”  
Harry insists that her puns “are the most attractive thing about me, c’mon Lou,” and Louis pretends to roll her eyes but really glows inside at the nickname. When they reach the car, she still hasn’t let Harry’s hand go.  
Harry opens the door for her, a picture of polite, and for the first time Louis fully takes in her appearance. She’s wearing scuffed black boots and her gorgeous curly hair is in a braid going down her back. Her outfit is a low-cut silver shirt and a pair of skin-tight black jeans, making her legs go on for ages.  
Louis blushes when Harry smirks at her staring, and the drive passes quickly as they chat about nothing, stealing glances at each other and giggling when they’re caught.  
When they get to the restaurant Harry hold the door open for Louis (and if she were a weaker woman she would be swooning) and leads her through the door, passing the long line of well-dressed people looking impatiently at their watches. When Louis raises an impressed eyebrow at Harry, the girl blushes and simply explains, “my uncle knows some people.”  
Inside is dimly lit and crowded, seemingly filled to maximum capacity of people, and Louis has to take careful steps to avoid faceplanting in front of a waiter. It might have been a mistake to wear these shoes.  
They go to a booth in the corner, and it’s quieter here, with a candle burning in the center. Louis shrugs off her coat and appreciates the setting, seeing out of the corner of her eye Harry staring at her.  
She turns back to the girl and smiles, nudging her with her feet under the table. Harry nudges back, until they’re fully playing a rousing game of footsie, and Louis has to remind herself that she’s a fully grown adult.  
Just then, their waiter comes over, and Louis takes a disliking to him instantly. He has greasy dark hair and an oddly predatory smile.  
"I’m Nick, I’ll be your server today," he says, and Louis notices how he’s only addressing Harry, who’s giving him a sunny smile. "What would you like to drink tonight?"  
"I’ll just have water," Harry says, and Nick nods like she made the best decision possible.  
Louis clears her throat, and both Nick and Harry turn to look at her. Nick frowns. “And what would you like?” he aks, tone bored. Asshole.  
Louis orders a beer and as soon as she stops speaking Nick turns abruptly back to Harry. “I’ll be right with you. Please, call me if you need anything at all,” he says, before turning and walking away. Harry smiles obliviously back at him.  
Louis stares at her.  
"You do realize he was hitting on you?" she asks, and damn, that’s not what she wanted to come out of her mouth. Harry just looks at her curiously.  
"Was he? I didn’t notice," she says. Louis just rolls her eyes.  
"You clearly have no idea how adorable you are," she says, and Harry squeals and kicks her under the table.  
"I’m not adorable! I am strong and fierce!" she protests, but she really just looks like a disgruntled, fluffy cat. Louis bursts out laughing.  
The next couple minutes pass like that, just banter and laughter, and Louis is very close to transforming into a pink cloud of happiness and ascending to heaven when she sees Gross Waiter Nick approach their table.  
"You ready to order?" he asks Harry, depositing their drinks on the table. Louis wonders what the consequences will be if she impales him with her heels.  
“Oh shit, I didn’t even look at the menu,” Harry says sheepishly. “Five more minutes?”  
Nick nods and walks away. Louis reaches for her menu to look over her food choices.  
Harry is in the middle of recommending a delicious-sounding pasta dish when Louis first smells it. She sniffs again, wondering where that awful burning plastic smell is coming from. Looking around, she sees other people noticing it as well, commenting to their dates and wrinkling their noses. Louis showered and put on deodorant, so it’s probably not her, but she shifts uncomfortably in her seat anyway.  
“Uh, Lou . . .” Harry starts, looking down at the table with a vaguely panicked look on her face. Louis follows the other girl’s eyes down to her hands, and screams.  
The menu in her hands is on fucking fire, and she is holding it while it is on fucking fire.  
Louis drops the menu and looks around frantically, because there’s got to be some kind of liquid or something to put out the flames, and – by the corner is Nick, looking slightly stunned and holding a pitcher of lemonade.  
She rushes towards him and grabs the lemonade, and runs back to the table to douse the most definitely on fire menu. Once the pitcher is empty and the rest of the restaurant is silent, she snags her heel on the carpet while turning around and falls.  
Louis wonders if she blacked out, and really, really hopes that all of this never happened.  
“It probably caught on fire when you held it above the candle,” Harry’s voice says from somewhere above her, sounding slightly bemused.  
“Uh, yes, I can see that. Now leave me to die.” Louis gets up anyway, and is mortified to find that she had to blink back white hot tears. Harry looks at Louis, and her face softens.  
“Oh, babe, no. Don’t worry, I got this.” Harry grabs Louis’ arm and hands some money to the nearest stunned waiter and tells him, “talk to my uncle, he’ll sort it out. But here’s something to cover the damage.”  
With that, Harry walks quickly out of the restaurant, almost dragging Louis at her side, and stays silent until they reach the outside of the restaurant. As soon as the door closes behind them, Harry bursts out laughing.

Great. Now she’s being laughed at. Louis really just wants to go home and sleep. “I don’t get what’s so funny,” she sniffs, and tries to subtly wipe at her eyes. “I just set a menu on fire and embarrassed us in front of everyone.”

Harry just laughs harder. “Are you kidding? That was amazing!” she shrieks. “You should’ve seen your face!”

Louis can only imagine what she must have looked like. “If you’ve stopped laughing at me,” she snaps, “I’d like to go home, so please can you just drive me back?”

Harry stops short, and takes hold of Louis’ hand. “Really, Louis. I get that it was embarrassing but . . . I don’t really want you to leave yet.” She blushes. “So, if you’d like, we can go someplace else? I’m a bit hungry.”

Louis gives a watery smile, but manages to roll her eyes. “Does Burger King sound good?”

“It sounds wonderful.”

(Louis is thrown off the rest of the date, despite all of Harry’s reassurances that everything was fine. She gets a kiss at the end of the night, though, so maybe the whole incident wasn’t a complete failure.)

(Two and a half years later, Louis is finally persuaded to go back to the restaurant, despite numerous protests. When Harry gets down on one knee, Louis stops crying for a second and thinks that yeah, it definitely wasn't a complete failure.)


End file.
